If
someone says the root of all evil is money, they’ve never met a witch. Hot on
Tara Sobrantes heels, I hungered for a quick capture. But my past experiences
with brimstone-users had taught me not to eat the candy house until Gretel had
heated the oven. The permanent fireball scar on my right butt cheek reinforced
the lesson.

Capitalizing
on a rare break in the rain, I peered through the branches and foliage I’d
arranged to obscure my position in one of the Pacific Northwest’s oldest
forests. Drawn to the sweet scent of exhaled carbon dioxide, a deer fly landed
on my cheek. I flicked away the bloodsucker while keeping my gaze on a distant
group of figures.

Three
hundred feet away, the Mystic Monks began another round of tiresome morning
rituals. For four lousy days I’d watched them worship their gods. Watched,
waited and shivered through one bone-chilling downpour after another. I knew
Tara was hiding at the monastery. While I might not have her yet, or the large
bounty she’d fetch from shirking a loan shark, I was still in the game.

A man
wearing a burgundy cloak ventured away from the others, heading deeper into the
woods. He glanced around, perhaps to confirm he was alone, and then crouched
until he almost sat. The monk lifted the hem of his woolen robe, carefully
draping the material over his knees. I scrunched my nose and started to look
away when something caught and held my eye. A steady stream of yellow wet the
thick carpet of pine needles between his feet. The men I’d known didn’t squat
when they pissed—I got you, Tara.

I
stood, careful not to make a sound. In the tight cat suit I wore, the movement
caused the plastic edge of my Para Hunter identification card to poke my hip. A
practiced shake released two Fae kissed, silver blades from their leather
holsters and into my hands. Blades were good for close combat, not for the gap
I currently faced. With well placed, gliding steps, I narrowed the opening
between us.

Finished
urinating, Tara rose, letting the hem of her heavy robe fall. I quickened my
pace, I couldn’t afford to lose her bounty. My brother was all the inspiration
I needed to complete this job.

A
scream pierced my thoughts and the damp, morning air. The pressurized wail
thickened then transformed into a muted gurgle. Tara’s hood fell backward,
revealing a bobbing metal shaft protruding from under her jaw. Someone, not me,
had launched an arrow into her throat.

Move!
I lunged forward, feet slipping as my boots sought purchase on the slick
ground. Razor sharp, a barb sliced through my suit and lodged into the skin and
muscle of my shoulder. The force of the arrow shoved me backward and to the
ground. An instantaneous, moor-like sweat coated my skin.

My
nostrils flared like a wounded animal, and I scrambled to my feet. Normally,
I’ll stubbornly stand my ground, but I’m not stupid. My attacker knew my
position, and I didn’t know his. If I stayed put, he’d fill me full of metal
like a scrap yard.

Racing
away in a crazy zigzag, I heard near noiseless whispers as the air parted,
making way for a barrage of arrows. Bolts lodged into the trees all around me,
at head level. Yes, someone wasn’t trying to scare me off. Someone wanted me
dead. Not here, not now. Not when my brother and his family were counting on
me.

Bites
of pain skewered my arms, then a leg. The cold cramp of fear tightened its hold
on my lungs. Holy shit, I was going to die. Adrenaline driven, I pushed forward
long after my wounds should have dropped me.

A
misty fog had descended on the dense pine canopy when I finally allowed myself
to stop running. I sank to the ground at the base of a tamarack pine. In
unison, my muscles and lungs screamed a tortured ditty, whose tune I was hella
familiar. I need a new profession or I’m not going to make it to my thirtieth
birthday.

Blinking,
I tried to focus eyes blurry with tears. I had officially accepted Tara’s mark.
For two weeks she was supposed to be off limits to all other Para Bounty
Hunters. That was the unwritten code. Someone violated that code, and that
someone was here. They’d killed her and tried the same with me. Who? Why?

And
how had they found Tara? Some might call it cockiness, I called it first class
investigation skills. I was positive that I alone figured out the connection
between brother and sister. Tara had blended in seamlessly with the monks. It
took me days in that damn hidey-hole to catch her slip.

Lids
closing, I slowed my breathing. Trading pain for awareness, I listened to the
steady dripping that came from the pine needles above. Morning dew ran down the
rough grooves in the bark. A crackle here, a chirp there, then quiet. Head
bowing to my chest, minutes spooled by. A long, low howl broke the quiet,
followed by another, then another--young, excited yips joining in.

I’d
forgotten others beside the monks called the Pacific Northwest home. Wolves
hunted in secluded places like this, and the blood trail I left behind was
ideal for tracking.

About
the Author

J.A. is a full
time firefighter in California, an addicted trail runner, a connoisseur of all
things cheese puff, and an urban fantasy author. When she isn't slogging
through the obstacles at a mud run, you can find her hunched over her computer
unleashing demons, vampires, and werewolves upon the world.